Do you use mind maps in your everyday activities in the classroom? I do. I have never stopped using them since I discovered how helpful they are both for my students and me. I keep adding new applications. Instead of writing long columns and lists or confusing explanations, my students and I create spider diagrams – we just need a single sheet of paper or a computer image instead of a lot of pages.
What are mind maps?
Mind maps are a visual way of taking notes. They are an innovative tool in education, a mighty graphic technique that explains relations between concepts and ideas linked to one central topic. They are a great way of gathering and organizing ideas. They work the way our brain does, so a mind map is a translation of what’s in our mind into a visual picture. They help us organize and understand information faster and better.
How can teachers use mind maps?
There are several ways teachers can use mind maps.
They can use them for their own planning and organising lessons. They are an excellent tool to structure the lesson or even the annual teaching plan.
Mind maps can be used both in teaching and learning. They can be used to brainstorm the ideas and generate a discussion, but they can also be used to analyse concepts. If mind maps are made on the computer, they can be easily copied, printed and reused. They can be a good support for presentations. They encourage students’ creativity. Students can make them in pairs or groups, so they can improve their team work abilities. And finally, they are an excellent assessment tool, a very effective way of evaluating students’ understanding.
How can you make a mind map?
You first write a word or create an image of the main idea. Then you add branches with sub-topics. It is good to use different colours to show hierarchy among the sub-topics. The sub-branches that stem from the main branches lead to new sub-branches and the map expands. So we get a more or less complex structure. Each sub- branch explains the topic of the branch that it stems from. You should be careful to use single words or short phrases.
You can simply draw a mind map on the board, or create it on your computer, with the help of mind mapping software. You can also use ready-made mind maps.
How do mind maps help students?
Texts are linear and it takes time to get pieces of information one after another. In mind maps students can actually see all the information simultaneously. So mind maps help them understand concepts more easily because they show the connections between different facts. They encourage students to think creatively and engage students during the class. They help them understand concepts or create new ideas and build connections, so they make learning more simple. Mind maps are a much easier way to memorize content.
How can EFL teachers use mind maps?
There are a lot of things you can do with mind maps. You can teach and practise new vocabulary and grammar. They can be used for improving language skills. The variety of applications is infinite.
They can help students structure the writing tasks by brainstorming ideas. They can be a useful tool to explain grammar. Mind maps can help teachers explain complex texts. You can ask your students to show how they understood a text by making their own mind maps. Once you have created a mind map, it is an excellent support for speaking exercises. You can make exercises in which students are supposed to arrange words in a mind map the way they are related to each other.
